Street Food Series: Malaysia's Oyster Omelet (Oh Chien)...

I am delighted to feature Malaysia's top street-hawker food- intoxicating, crispy, gooey, chewy savoury and juicy oyster omelets!! It happens to be one of my sons' favourite dish especially Étienne- he can't get enough of the goo! Texture is very important in Malaysian cooking, and this one takes the cake on sticky and slippery, along with well representing the four flavour pillars of sweet, sour, salty and spicy and even bordering into bitter when you get a bite into over-crisped oyster gills. There are different versions all over Asia from Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan (where it originated), and Malaysia's variation cooks up more eggy and soft. It is quite simple to attempt at home. If you love oysters and eggs, and the complex elements as described, you may find this can easily become a household favourite!

Photo Credit: http://live-less-ordinary.com/southeast-asia-food

Cooking up Malay oyster omelets in a famous Oh Chien stall in the northern end of Muar's Glutton Street.

Photo Credit: http://johorkaki.blogspot.ca/

Malaysia's Oyster Omelet (Oh Chien)

Makes 4 servings

Batter:

1/4 cup potato starch 

2 Tbsp. tapioca flour 

1 cup water

1 tsp. fish sauce

a few drops of sesame oil

4 eggs, beaten
salt and ground white pepper

2 Tbsp. cooking oil
8 large fresh oysters, or frozen and thawed (*cleaned), cut into two pieces or use over a dozen small oysters

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp. fish sauce

2 tsp. Chinese cooking wine

1 tsp. rice vinegar

drizzle of sesame oil

cilantro leaves, chopped

1 Tbsp. chilli sauce such as Sriracha

lime juice or rice vinegar to taste

*Let oysters sit in 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch and 1 tsp. salt for 10 minutes to clean. Rinse twice and drain well. 

In a bowl, mix the starch and flour with water to make a very thin batter. Add fish sauce and sesame oil. In another bowl, beat the eggs, add a little salt and pepper and set aside.

In a skillet or wok, heat 1 Tbsp. oil until smoking hot. Pour in half the batter, spread it around thinly and let it bubble up gooey and slightly set.

Pour half the eggs over and spread it around to cover the batter below; when it is almost set, break the mixture with your spatula to create gaps. Then add the remaining batter; let cook for a minute. Again, break apart the omelet with your spatula and when its slightly set, add the remaining eggs.
NOTE: Layering the batter and eggs will create a saturated gooey eggy texture with every bite and crispier edges.

Push the egg and batter mixture to the sides of the wok. Add the remaining oil and stir in the garlic until fragrant.  

Add the oysters. Cook for a few minutes, season with fish sauce, cooking wine and vinegar. 

Toss it together with the egg mixture until heated through.

Remove onto serving vessel. Drizzle on sesame oil and top with cilantro. Serve dipped with chili sauce mixed with lime or vinegar.

Dee-liciously pungent, savoury with complex flavours and textures having a party in our mouths!

Join me again tomorrow, for a sweet finish to my series on Southeast Asia's street eats with Coconut Milk Sticky Black Rice and Grilled Mangoes- a Thai-Laos hawker favourite...